Our card this week is Aaron Lamont Smalls, the Ace of Spades from Virginia.

When Aaron was found shot to death in 2001, investigators dug through piles of tips and several

key pieces of evidence to try and find his killer.

But each lead seemed to dry up quicker than the last, and the case eventually went cold.

Now, more than 20 years later, investigators are still hopeful that they can uncover the

truth for his family and give them the closure they deserve.

I'm Ashley Flowers, and this is The Deck.

Deputies from the York Pacozen Sheriff's Office were going about their evening,

patrolling the streets of York County, Virginia when they got a call from dispatch about an

abandoned vehicle. A sedan had been parked at the country club apartments on the northwest

edge of the county for several days, and the management company wanted it gone.

So they headed over to the complex to check it out. By the time they pulled in, it was about

7 pm, so things were pretty quiet. Most people were inside their units for the night, and so it

didn't take long for them to spot the car in question. It was parked in a spot just off to the

side of one of the buildings, and at least from the outside, it appeared to be in working order.

Sheriff Ron Montgomery wasn't the one on the scene that night. He was the chief deputy at the time,

but he told our reporter nothing stood out when his deputies got a closer look.

So at the time that we were there, there were no keys found with the vehicle, nobody around the

vehicle, deputies got out and opened the car doors. The only thing that was unusual about it,

that point it was the back seat was missing out of the vehicle. When the deputies ran the license

plate, they found that it had been reported stolen about two weeks ago on January 25th, 2001,

and it was now February 6th. According to the registration, it belonged to a woman who

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